How to Conquer Skateboarding Fear
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Conquering your fear is a huge part of skateboarding. Rolling along on a small wobbly plank of wood, doing tricks and trying not to eat pavement - it can and should be scary. Yes, I said it should be scary. You can get hurt skateboarding. Your fear comes from you being aware of that fact. So, it's a good thing. It shows that you aren't stupid! But, it's only a good thing to a point. Once you understand that you might get hurt, and once you have a healthy respect for what you are doing, continuing being afraid only holds you back.
And so, here are some steps that might help you get past your unhealthy fear of skateboarding:Skateboard Fear Tips - Take Your TimeA lot of the time, fear in
comes from pushing yourself too hard. Maybe you just bought your skateboard last week, and today you're trying to jump off a ramp.
If you are scared, well, that might mean that it's a little too soon for you to try jumps. Take your time with skateboarding - learn at your own speed.Being relaxed and loose will help your skateboarding in so many ways. Relax, breathe, and learn at your own pace.Skateboard Fear Tips - Fall a Few TimesThat might sound weird, but falling actually helps a lot in building your confidence in skateboarding. Every time you wipe out, you get a little bit better. Your body starts to learn what not to do.You can also practice falling. For example, if you are skating on ramps but you are afraid of dropping in, then practice running up the side of the ramp and dropping to your knees (you'll want
for this!).
Just run up, drop to your knees and slide back down. Then, if you fall while dropping in, you know how to fall. This should help reduce your skateboarding fear.Skateboard Fear Tips - Ramp Up SlowlyAs you learn to skate, there are some things that are just scary to do. For some of these, you can slowly build up to having more confidence.
Here are some examples:Dropping in - Dropping in is one of the scariest things to do for the first time! Find smaller, shorter ramps and practice there first. Then, build up to higher ramps slowly.Ollies - First, practice on grass, or on your living room carpet. My first
attempts were in my brother's driveway, and I jacked up my wrist for several months. I should have started on something softer!Hills - Skating down hills can be terrifying. Start with small hills, and work your way up. NEVER just start with the largest hill in town! I know a guy who borrowed a longboard from me to skate for a week, and the first hill he hit he ended up in the hospital. Start with small slopes and work your way up!Jumps - Jumping off of
can be fun, but unless you know how to land, the trip can end with some pain! Practice riding off of smaller edges, like curbs, and work your way up.Skateboard Fear Tips - PracticeMost skaters don't want to hear this, but practice is very important in skateboarding! Practice will help your body learn to skate, and will help develop your reflexes. If you are scared of doing something, then follow the above tips, and practice a lot. Eventually, you'll be fine. Skateboard Fear Tips - CommitYou can's skateboard half way. You need to commit to it. If you are trying a trick, you have to commit to seeing it through, or it simply won't work. Understanding that is important!If you don't commit to tricks, then you actually have a better chance of hurting yourself. I know, it sounds strange, but it's true! If you only dive in half way, then you have already decided to fail.I remember learning to drop in, and I would get all set up, tip my nose in and then immediately take my back foot off the board and catch myself. every time. I wasn't committed, and if I would have been clear headed enough to think about it, I would have known that I had already decided to fail. I was scared. The only way for me to conquer that was to commit to dropping in. I had to decide that keeping my feet on that board, and getting hurt if I fell, was worth it (by the way, I didn't get hurt! Dropping in is freaky, but once you do it, it's not so bad!) Skateboard Fear Tips - When All Else Fails...All of these tips and all of this advice should help you on your way to conquering your skateboarding fear. Sometimes, however, you just need to push through it. Just reach deep, grab a hold of your courage and do it. Whatever the trick or maneuver is, if you know it's at your level, and you are as relaxed as you are going to get, and you've practiced and ramped up as much as you can - if, after all of that, you are still scared, then just kick yourself in the butt and just do it. You might fall, you might get hurt, but like I said, that's OK! Falling and failing is part of learning. You'll heal (if you wore pads!), and you'll just do it again later. But that time, you'll be wiser, and closer to landing the trick.
Skateboard Fear Tips - How to Conquer Skateboarding FearThe key to learning English well is to overcome your shyness and fear , said taxi driver Zhang, who is attending the English training program run by the West Lake Taxi Company. “Out teacher Mrs.Yang encourages us many times to open our mouths _百度作业帮
The key to learning English well is to overcome your shyness and fear , said taxi driver Zhang, who is attending the English training program run by the West Lake Taxi Company. “Out teacher Mrs.Yang encourages us many times to open our mouths
The key to learning English well is to overcome your shyness and fear , said taxi driver Zhang, who is attending the English training program run by the West Lake Taxi Company. “Out teacher Mrs.Yang encourages us many times to open our mouths and speak English out loudly in her class ,” said Zhang.Chen Zhong, another fluent(流利的) English speaker, shared his opinion. “I didn’t think English was important to us at the beginning since many foreign passengers could speak some Chinese to me. But when I did speak some English, the foreigners were always pleased and said I was the first taxi driver they had met who could speak English. Chen said he found studying English extremely interesting. The 160 minutes’ study per week was simply not enough for him. He bought books , tapes and VCDs to learn English on his own.. “Though it cost me a lot of time and energy , I did find it is useful in the long term” he said. The reward of learning English is more than Chen has expected. Now he has made several foreign friends who book his taxi when they need. Some foreign passengers even give him tips (小费when he communicates with them in English. To facilitate their studies, the company developed a bilingual(双语的) tape which includes the most frequently used sentences for taxi drivers and the names of major streets and buildings in Shenzhen. “It has helped me out, ” said Chen. “Once I failed to express ‘Chinese Folk Culture Villages’ in English when I was asked to go there by a foreigner, I played the tape and got its meaning.”59. What difficulty did Mr.Zhang have learning English at first?A. He had no time to study EnglishB. His company didn’t allow them to study EnglishC. He had no courage to speak out.D. He had no chance to speak English.60. Which of the following is NOT the benefit Chen gets from learning English?A. He gets some good advice on learning English from foreigners.B. He earns more money from some regular foreign customers.C. He has to spend both money and effort learning English.D. He gets great fun and encouragement in learning English.61. We can infer from the passage that _____.A. the company is the first to encourage its drivers to learn EnglishB. all the drivers have made money after learning EnglishC. the company has developed and English tape for its driversD. the tape is welcomed by the drivers learning English62. What is the probable meaning of the underlined word “facilitate” in the fifth paragraph?A. To make easy&&B. To increase&&&& C. To encourage&& D. To check
小题1:C小题2:C小题3:D小题4:AHow to Fight Your Fears
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Fear is one of my favorite topics. Much of my time has been spent understanding this emotion and how I can overcome my personal fears. A sense of personal empowerment, accomplishment, and fulfillment surges with each fear I face.
The most important fact about fears that we should always bear in mind is this: Fear is not a rational response to whatever challenges stare at us in life. And it is all in our mind, within us, and not anything external to us.
The purpose of fear is to protect us from life threatening circumstances. For example: to run away when there’s a bear chasing us, or to be careful when handling live electric wires.
Fear can cause us to make an irrational response to challenges we face. Fear imposes limits on our minds, removing our clarity and leaving only negative thought patterns. Fear causes us to act emotionally because we panic, our mind shuts down and we respond instinctively to protect ourselves and our egos.
Fear hinders us in situations where there is no direct threat to life, but we might perceive a threat to our life as we know it. Fear of failure is one of the most crippling emotions that can limit your potential in life. Fear of social censure makes one feel lonely. Fear of heights takes away the joy of reaching mountain peaks and touching the clouds.
A personal story: I started photographing people, because I had a deep fear of approaching people and capturing intimate moments. I used to tell myself these stories: “I wasn’t good enough” and “Why would anyone take me, an inexperienced photographer seriously?”. I essentially created this fear because I didn’t want to “look stupid”. I eventually conquered this fear by doing it despite the fear. I used to regularly approach strangers on the street and ask to take their portraits. The first time I did this, I was shaking so hard, the picture came out blurry, but what I gained was priceless: Momentum towards a new skill and eliminating a fear. I learned that the more you do what you fear, the less you will fear it! Now, two years later, I shoot people portraits professionally and have been published in several publications for my portrait work.
Here are some tried and tested tips on how to fight your fears:
o “” – The best method to fight any fear is to take positive action against whatever it is that you are afraid of. Is fear of failure stopping you from learning that new skill? Go ahead and learn it! This is what courage is all about: to act despite the fear. (I highly recommend )
o Educate Yourself – Learn more and more about the object that you are afraid of. You want to chuck your job and plunge into your own business, but are afraid of the risks involved? Then the best way to reduce the fears is to consciously learn about the business in as much depth as you can. Preparation increases confidence and calms those butterflies in the stomach. Just be aware of “Analysis-paralysis” (I will cover this topic in more depth in future posts from my own experience.).
o Affirmations – Use self-affirmations that give a positive spin to whatever it is that you fear. Write these self-affirmations on a stick-it note where it is easily visible. Say you are afraid of criticism from others, then one possible self-affirmation could be – “I am outstanding. I must be outstanding for all the people I will help.”
o Visualization – Positive visualization is projecting an image of yourself overcoming your fears, and is a powerful technique to fight your fears. If you are afraid of your boss, visualize that your boss is smiling at you, appreciating you, and complimenting you of a job well done. Keep this image in your mind firmly.
o “What’s the Worst Case Scenario?” – Often when this question is asked, you realize how silly the fear is. Example, if you are afraid to ask someone out on a date, what’s the worst that could happen? The other person saying “No”? It’s not that bad, right? One of my most enlightening realizations is recognizing that “I have nothing to lose”.
In my experience, we can always fight our fears, win, and get ahead in life.
What do you think?
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About the author
is a mom, a wife, a lover of Apple products and a CHO (Chief Happiness Officer) for our : Think Simple Now. She is obsessed with encouraging and empowering people to lead conscious and happy lives.
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Great read-fear kills me, yet perks me up at the same time because of how Batman comes to use it in the DC universe. :-)
Visualization always frustrates me though…..citing an example from back in high school-I’d picture girls I had a crush on saying all the right things, actually liking my presence, holding hands, going out with me etc.
Only to find that all went BLATANTLY the other direction…
Oh well-I’ve been out for awhile..gotta look forward to a new life on non-fear sometime…
I find my biggest fears lies in arguments online-and showing off my creative work to others..I run from the former, and keep the latter to myself..
But damn it-I’m gonna and wanna suck it up someday and say, “Hey Mr. Ornstein-HERE I AM!”
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